derogate

Definition

To partially repeal (a law etc.).

Etymology

Inherited from Late Middle English derogaten, from derogat(e) (“annulled, abrogated”, used participially and later as the past participle of derogaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix) borrowed from Latin dērogātus, perfect passive participle of dērogō (“to annul, repeal part of a law, take away, detract from”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from dē- (“from”) + rogō (“to ask, enquire; to propose a law”). Sporadic participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

Example Sentences

• "By several contrary customs, […] many of the civil and canon laws are controlled and derogated."
• "I never thought the human frailty of erring in cases of religion, infamy to a state, no more than to a council: it had therefore been neither civil nor christianly, to derogate the honour of the state for that cause [...]."
• "When the need for self-affirmation is satisfied through other means, one is less compelled to derogate members of negatively stereotyped groups."